Weak teachers should not get pay rise, says Ofsted

The chief inspector of Ofsted has warned that heads should only be rewarding committed and hard working staff, and weak teachers should not be given pay rises.

Sir Michael Wilshaw suggested that good teachers are "irritated" when their under-performing colleagues are given the same financial incentives.

Teachers see their pay rise, on average, by around £1,800 a year if they are judged to be performing well enough against a set threshold.

But in some circumstances it can rise by up to £5,000 a year.

Speaking at an RSA event on satisfactory schools in central London, Sir Michael suggested that 92-93% of teachers go through the threshold.

"But 40% of lessons are less than good," he said.

"Teaching is a noble profession. The thing that irritates good teachers, people who work hard and go the extra mile, is seeing the people that don't do that being rewarded.

"Headteachers and governors should worry about performance management more than they have been doing."

He added: "I know from my own experience that heads need to performance manage their staff properly This means only promoting and increasing the pay of those who are committed, teach well and show the desire and capacity to improve.

"It means not rewarding everyone indiscriminately.

"I want Ofsted to focus more sharply on how well heads are doing this."